0, if a proposition lodged by St Clement Deputy Ian Gorst is adopted by the States.
The report to the proposal explains that some therapeutic schemes, including for example those run by the Jersey Employment Trust for people with special needs, could be unaffordable because the law requires participants to be paid a minimum wage even if the work they are doing is non-profit-making and intended to help their own development and training.
Deputy Gorst says that although the law does not make exemptions for people on these schemes, there are codes of practice to help employers define whether or not the work is regarded as ’employment’ within the law.
However, it seems that scheme providers have been uncertain about how to interpret the codes.
Deputy Gorst said: ‘My concern is that the specifics and scenarios detailed in the codes of practice have created a degree of uncertainty and subjectivity which even the Employment Tribunal have indicated could only be determined by themselves on a case-by-case basis.
‘Providers of schemes have understandably been reluctant to act, fearing that they might find themselves in front of a tribunal for exploiting the very people they seek to serve.
In my opinion this is not acceptable and needs clarification.
